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A Possible Issue: Days Off for Jeter

Only four shortstops started at least 150 games last season. Derek Jeter, who turned 36 in June, was one of them. The next oldest, at 33, was Alex Gonzalez of Atlanta. As the Yankees embark on a fascinating and potentially uncomfortable set of negotiations with Jeter to decide what could be his final contract, many numbers — from the 64-point drop in his batting average this past season to the 74 hits he needs for 3,000 for his career — will be discussed.

But perhaps the two sides should start with 147, which is relevant for two reasons: it represents the fewest starts he ever made at shortstop in a regular season, except for his broken-collarbone year of 2003, and it denotes how many games he has played in the postseason. Jeter is a 16-year veteran, but all those intense playoff and World Series games — far more than almost all his peers — make it seem more like 17. And maybe, at times, makes him feel a little older than his listed age.

The Yankees have never taken Jeter’s durability for granted, but asking him to start scaling back his playing time at shortstop and resting more — he played in 157 of 162 regular-season games in 2010, and every inning of the team’s nine playoff games — now seems like an option drenched in common sense. Manager Joe Girardi has raised the idea. Whether it becomes an issue in Jeter’s contract talks remains to be seen.

Extracting a commitment from Jeter to sit out more games is not likely to be easy. His competitiveness and desire to play are such that he never appears in the clubhouse wearing a wrap or an ice pack.

But after a season in which he hit .270, his worst average over a full campaign, and also set or tied career lows in on-base percentage (.340), slugging percentage and home runs (10), Jeter might be open to the argument that a player his age needs more protection from wearing down.

Not that Jeter is fading that quickly. Even with his precipitous drop in batting average, he still resides in the upper tier of shortstops based on offensive categories, even if the overall competition at the position is not as robust as it once was.

Among the 20 shortstops with the most plate appearances in 2010, Jeter ranked among the top eight in average (eighth), on-base percentage (sixth), doubles (seventh) and walks (third). No shortstop scored more runs (111) or had more hits (179) than Jeter, who, it should be noted, also made the most outs in baseball (511). He had those positive and negative numbers for the same reason — he had more plate appearances (739) in 2010 than every player but Rickie Weeks of Milwaukee (754).

Photo

Derek Jeter played in 157 of 162 regular-season games in 2010, and all 9 playoff games.Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

But that, too, points to the question of whether Jeter now needs more time off during the grind of a long season. Playing as often as he did ultimately exposes more of his weaknesses, and his defense, after a two-year revival, slid backward in 2010.

By traditional measures, it was actually the best season of his career: a .989 fielding percentage and only six errors — two fielding, four throwing — indicating his ability to make the plays he is supposed to make remains intact. But according to the many advanced metrics that now measure defensive acumen, Jeter hurt the Yankees this past season by not getting to as many balls as he used to.

After the 2007 season, Jeter altered his workouts to expand his lateral range. By practically every measure, his defense improved in 2008, and then again in 2009, though healthier legs and better positioning also likely played a role.

But in 2010 among shortstops, Jeter had the fourth-worst plus-minus rating — a metric established by John Dewan, an author of the “Fielding Bible,” to evaluate defense — at minus-17. That essentially means Jeter made 17 fewer plays than the average shortstop.

Another statistic, ultimate zone rating per 150 games, which incorporates errors, range, arm strength and double plays, determines a fielder’s value based on how many runs he saved or lost compared to the average player. According to that metric, Jeter, the year after preventing 8.0 more runs than the average shortstop because of his defense, in 2010 allowed 5.4 more runs, the sixth most among shortstops.

If this were only about baseball and future production — and not about Jeter’s symbolic importance to the franchise — the Yankees could argue that Jeter, based on his statistics, age and veteran status, might be in line for a 2011 salary that would be half of the $21 million he earned in 2010.

But that, of course, is not going to happen. Imagine Jeter making less money next season than the undependable A. J. Burnett, who is set to receive $16.5 million. So the Yankees — knowing that Jeter is the captain who still plays with resolve that rubs off on teammates, that he hits better than a lot of his peers at his position, but may be slowing on defense, that he might have three competitive seasons left, but perhaps not five — will have to figure out just how much they are willing to pay.

Jeter, in turn, may have to decide how much less he is willing to make than he did in 2010. Compromise seems inevitable in this case, but it may not be that easy. Meanwhile, Jeter could probably use more rest.

A version of this news analysis appears in print on November 4, 2010, on page B19 of the New York edition with the headline: A Possible Issue: Days Off for Jeter. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe